WASHINGTON – Several Republican senators have pushed back against President Donald Trump’s characterization of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “a dictator,” expressing disagreement with the assessment.
When asked if she believed Zelenskyy is a dictator, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, responded plainly: “I do not.”
Similarly, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters they would not describe the Ukrainian leader in such terms.
“I wouldn’t use the same word,” Cornyn said.
Trump’s assessment of Zelenskyy came the day after U.S. and Russian officials met without Ukrainian representation to discuss terms to end Russia’s three-year-old invasion. The posture marks a shift in U.S. policy, which has been raging since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. Congress has sent billions of dollars to support the Ukrainian war effort.
“He refuses to hold elections, is polling very low in Ukraine, and the only thing he was good at was playing (former President Joe) Biden ‘like a fiddle,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. “A dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better act fast, or he won’t have a country left.”
Zelenskyy canceled an election scheduled for spring 2024, citing the ongoing war and arguing that holding a vote during martial law, which is permitted under Ukraine’s Constitution, would be impractical. Trump also claimed Zelenskyy would lose if an election were held, despite a recent poll released Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showing that 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president was first elected in 2019 with 73% of the vote.
Several other Republican senators pushed back on another of Trump’s accusations – that Ukraine started the war with Russia, which is false. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and began to occupy much of the eastern portion of the country. Russia previously invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
“To the extent that the White House suggested Ukraine started the war, I disagree,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told the Associated Press. “I believe Vladimir Putin started the war. And based on bitter experience, I also believe Vladimir Putin is a gangster.”
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, stated on X that Ukraine is “a sovereign nation defending itself against aggression. That is the reality.”
“I share President Trump’s desire to see this war end, but it must conclude on terms that ensure lasting stability and peace,” he wrote. “This means preventing Vladimir Putin from claiming any form of victory.”
However, most Republicans reiterated their interest in peace in Ukraine and supported Trump’s call for elections in the country.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said “we need elections in Ukraine,” shortly after posting on X that “when it comes to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I blame Putin above all others.”
Zelenskyy said he spoke with Graham Wednesday and said the senator is “constructive and doing a lot to help bring peace closer.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called for Zelenskyy to hold an election. “Democracies have elections,” he said, noting that the United States had an election during World War II.
“The war’s gone on long enough and I think he’s going to deliver on that,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. to the AP about Trump. “How we get there, I trust President Trump. He’s a master negotiator and I think he’s going to get to a lasting peace.”
